First Quarter Of Your Life
by Edith Regis
Summary: Lorelai and Rory shared a conversation on Rory’s 25th birthday. Oneshot


First Quarter Of Your Life 

The light was dim. There were candles and rose petals all over the floor. The music was soft and beautiful. She was dancing. She was wearing a beautiful silver-sparkling ball-gown. She felt like that was the happiest moment of her life. Everything was so wonderful. But the best thing was that she was in arms of her Prince Charming. They were waltzing all night, lightly swinging in dance…

Wait!

Stop!

Something was wrong!

Something was wrong with the music!

The music supposed to be classical!

Not...

Madonna!

"Aaa!" Rory groaned and covered her head with her pillow but a sound that was drilling a hole in her brain didn't stop.

"Stop that damn noise." She muttered under her breath but her words didn't work on that sound. She finally gave up. She lifted her head from her pillows and realized that that was her cell phone playing "Material Girl" by Madonna.

"Stop!" She hissed towards her phone. She didn't want to talk to anyone. She was tired and only wanted to sleep and dream her beautiful dream.

Apparently the one who was calling didn't want her to dream.

She finally gave up. She reached out her hand for the phone but it was hard to grab it without looking. After knocking down almost everything from the bedside table she finally reached it.

"The one who is calling must be really desperate." She thought to herself. The phone had rung for at least 10 minutes before she finally answered it without checking the ID.

"Who ever you are I hate you because you made Prince Charming go!" She muttered to the phone.

"Well hello to you too, my wonderful first-born child. It good to know that you are so happy with your fabulous mother calls," Rory heard her mother cheerful voice on the other end "And about Prince Charming. Don't worry if he loves you he will be back soon and if not mommy will find you a dinner man like her own."

"Mom…" Rory tried to cut in but Lorelai ignored her daughter and continued speaking.

"So any complaints?" she asked.

"Yes, I have a crazy mother, who is calling me in the middle of the night without any good reason, interrupting my beautiful dream and wanting to hear a complaints about God knows what!" Rory grunted with sleepy but also very annoyed voice still laying flat on her stomach with her head buried in pillows.

"Hey kiddo don't be cruel to your mom," Lorelai pretended to be hurt with her daughter respond but she knew that sleepy Rory was hard to deal "I've only wanted to said happy birthday to my favorite daughter."

"Your only daughter you mean." Rory corrected rolling over on her back.

"Not for long." Lorelai explained happily.

"But it isn't 4 yet." Said Rory checking the clock at her bedside table. It said 1.03.

"Not in England!" Her mother responded quickly.

"Well either in Stars Hollow." Rory started to get a little confused.

"Yes, but it is in South Arabia." Lorelai explained.

At that statement Rory didn't know what to say. "And what that supposed to mean?" She asked sitting up and leaning against the headboard.

"Well I realized that our 4.03 rule doesn't count when were are not in the same time zone." Lorelai started to explained "You're in London but what if you were in New Zealand? You would have birthday few hours ago!"

Rory started to laugh at her mom's logic. "Ok that's why you are calling me at the 1.00 GMT? Any specific reason or it was just a random pick?" She was interested.

"You know, it's not polite to interrupt other people. If you didn't stop me, you would know by now why I called you at this particular hour. And don't laugh at mommy or I'll tell Prince Charming to dump you!"

"He already dumped me or I would rather said abandoned me because of you so I don't think it is really a threat," Rory pointed out "But OK. I'll be a good child now. I am listing to you and I am not going to say anything before you finish." She said picking up another pillow from the other side of a big double bed and putting it behind her back to get more comfortable.

"Thank you," Lorelai said and moved on "I will continue. I pick 1.03 in London time because it's 4.03 in Saudi Arabia. Just imagined that: what if I've met a rich sheikh from Saudi Arabia when I run away from home with you. He was so touched by our situation that he took us with him to his beautiful palace in Saudi Arabia and gave us everything we wanted and needed. And then he get to known me better and of course fell madly in love with me and we got married and the three of us live happy…"

"Ok I must interrupt because it doesn't make any sense!" Rory cut off her mother rumble.

"Hey!"

Ignoring her mother protests Rory continued. "Firstly I don't think that Saudi Arabian sheikh would took home 16 years old teenage mother with a child who run away from home," Rory pointed out.

"But..." Lorelai was trying to defend her story but her attempts was useless.

"Secondly if it was really rich and powerful sheikh he would have had already at least a couple of wives so I am not entirely sure if he would merry you and give you everything." Rory continued her thoughts about her mother story.

"Well..."

"Thirdly if you raised me at Saudi Arabia we wouldn't have this conversation right now." Rory could hear not very pleasant grunt and murmur from her mother end which sounded like "you are so boring" but she ignored it. "I am very certain that we would be sitting silently at some palace with abayas and niqabs all around us and waiting for a permission from your fabulous sheikh to even move. Or rather you would be sitting in one palace and I would be sitting in another because by the time I would reach my 25th birthday I would have been sold to my husband, probably another sheikh, for let say a few oilfields."

"At least we'd have got a good price for you" Lorelai muttered quietly but Rory heard her.

"Well thank you mother that you see the optimistic side in your first-born child miserable situation." Rory said sardonically. "And finally you don't like sand and deserts." She finished her statement.

"You're not fun" Lorelai sounded like the scolded kid.

"Well I'm not usually fun in the middle of night and besides someone in that team must play the responsible part and all this years I was that one." Rory replied "And that why I am asking you know: Are you drinking coffee?" She got serious at the last part.

"No! Why would you accuse me of something like that?" Lorelai was hurt.

"Well mother many times before when I got this crazy speech of yours it was during your coffee-roll so I'm just checking."

"Phh!" Lorelai snorted angry. "You are mean child! Don't even remind me of coffee." Lorelai grumbled "You will see yourself in future. One day without the elixir of life and you will be begging me for it. Try to understand you poor mother who is on her second no-caffeine period. OK, speaking of the reason of my caffeine depravation," Lorelai could change the subject in just one second "please convince Luke to Willy."

Rory rolled her eyes at her mother crazy antics. She once again tried to persuade her mother to drop this weird baby name conversation. "Mom you cannot name the girl Willy."

"Why?" Lorelai wailed.

"Because it's a man's name and you already have a babe named that." Rory pointed out calmly.

"Well it will be the second. Like Willy-boy and Willy-girl!" Lorelai almost shrieked, very pleased with her idea.

"Mom!"

"OK and what do you think about Wonka?" She asked hopefully.

"Mother stop!" Rory nearly yelled to the phone "Thing about normal name please! You got nearly 3 month to think before the little one is going to come so think about some cute girl name, please!" She begged her mother.

"Well I thing we will have another Lorelai." Rory could only imagine the grin on her mother face. "And speaking of Lorelais, we are turning back now to the hero of the day! So what do you think about your live so far?" She asked.

Rory smiled at the familiar question. "That it's pretty good." She responded looking around her bedroom and scanning the photos of her family and friends on the opposite wall.

"Good! Any complaints?"

"Well I already told you about ma crazy mother so mm... I think mm… besides that... mm… nothing." She said with a little smirk on her face preparing herself for her moms outburst.

"Rory! How dare you! I gave birth to you! I was fat for 9 months and in pain for many hours to give birth to you..." Lorelai cried but Rory quickly cut in.

"OK. OK, stop! I got it! I think I have a one little complaint but I hope it will be only temporarily."

"What? They don't have good coffee in London!" Lorelai asked hopefully.

"No, they have a great coffee in London and I think now I have even better deliver then you – my dear mother who married a coffee-man!" Rory said grinning like mad women knowing that it will pissed her mother a little.

She got up from bed and crossed the room to her photo-wall. Nearly half of the wall was covered by framed photos and even some homely printed once all of her family and friends. She looked at the latest – from Will's third birthday a month ago. Luke was holding Will while the boy was blowing out the candles on his birthday cake and Lorelai was standing near with a paper hat on her head and one arm wrapped around her round stomach. Rory smiled remembering this happy moments from her latest visit to Stars Hollow.

"Insolent child!" She heard her mother grumpy murmur.

"You know I just realized something!" Rory giggled at that reaction and exclaimed happily "I know why Luke is so grumpy!"

"Care to share?"

Rory started to laugh. "It's because of coffee or rather lack of it! Three moths without it and you started to sound just like him!" She laughed even harder hearing her mother not so pleasant respond.

"I think you spent to much time with my mother and that snobbish friends of your! It not polite to make fun of other people misfortune!"

Rory had a hard time to collect herself from her laugh but her mother last words alerted her. "I didn't know that the pregnancy was a misfortune?" She asked. "I thought that you want another baby, didn't you?" She asked seriously.

"Of course I want another baby" Lorelai responded "The misfortune is having a crazy husband who have hidden all coffee from my and convinced the whole town to not even let my smell some! He even took Chris and my parents on his side and he acting like a watch dog – he doesn't let my go anywhere outside Stars Hollow alone because he thinks I will drink coffee!"

"Well I think he has a good intuition with the last one" Rory stated to giggle.

"That beside the point!" Lorelai was nearly hysterical "It's driving my nuts!"

"Mom calm down!" Rory was snickering quietly. "He only wants what is the best for you and the baby," she said "and about my friends. They are not snobbish and you like them as much as I do!" she pointed out.

"Maybe, but we are straying from out conversation. What about the one complaint?" Lorelai asked.

"Well it's related to one of my best friends who is going to get married in a week and she gets crazy about it and calls me every half hour with some weeding problems." Rory said tiredly and went to her dressing table where a huge pile of colorful folders laid.

"Oh, Paris and the Wedding Hurricane!" Lorelai said cheerful "What was today?"

"The color of the bridesmaids dresses has another tint than the shoes" Rory started to specify Paris complaints flipping though the folders. They were Paris wedding folders and each had different color. The one that Rory was currently flipping through was pink. It was about bridesmaids – specific description about who the bridesmaids will be, how many and what they supposed to look like, etc.

"Really?"

"Yes it a half of the ton lighter."

"Wow it is horrible!" Lorelai said in very good pretended shock.

"Pastor talk to slow and some of the guests may felt bored during the ceremony.

"Fabulous Paris words counting"

"Yes, average 178 pwm." Rory sighed. Being Paris maid of honor was a difficult task especially across the ocean. "Than aunt Stacy – the one that beat everything that move and not have Geller name with her purse - cannot sit with Finns grandparents because she doesn't like Australians but there are no more any possible movements with the guests sittings that Paris will accept."

"Ooo it will be fun – aunt Stacy-Crazy beating with her another diamond purse Finns grandparents." Lorelai tried to prevent herself from laughing but couldn't at the images of the upcoming wedding.

"Well maybe," Rory laughed with her closing the yellow folder about sittings "but without diamond purse."

"Why? She change her mind to ribbons or diadems know?" Lorelai asked curiously remembering Paris's crazy aunt and her liking to expensive jewellery especially diamonds purses.

"No she's still with purses but Paris mother have no-diamonds time because she doesn't like the diamond necklace that Paris father gave his new wife and she will only accept the one at Paris's finger" Rory explained.

"Damn I must see that necklace!"

"It's huge and I can bet that the second wife will wear it to piss off the first."

"Ooo girls-fight" Lorelai was cheering like a little girl.

"And of course there was another 2 hours speech what-the-hell-I-am-doing-marring-Finnley-Geallan-Morthson? 1 one hour 57 minutes I timed!"

"Ladies and gentlemen we have a knew record!" Lorelai said in sport announcement voice. "OK is that all your complaints?" she asked.

"Probably." Rory considered her answer for a moment but right now she couldn't make anything up besides Paris and her wedding. Once again she wondered why Paris didn't hire a professional wedding planer and insisted to do everything alone. Well not alone but with her, Rory's, help. She though about it many times but realized that she wound not find a conclusion. Paris is Paris. She turned her attention back to her mom on the phone.

"So now time to sum up."

"Sum up what?" Rory wasn't able to think as quickly as her mother at one o'clock at night.

"Your live of course! We must sum up the first ¼ of your life", Lorelai said in isn't that obvious tone "correct me if I said something wrong."

Rory came back to bed and once again made herself comfortable against the headboard and listened to her mom's story.

"OK so 25 years ago the world set the eyes on the beautiful little girl named Lorelai Leigh Gilmore. She was a child of Lorelai Victoria Gilmore and Christopher Hayden. First 16 years of her life she was living a peaceful life with her mother in a crazy town named Stars Hollow with a bunch of even crazier people. Everyone loved her and adored her. Basically she was a town princess. That happy years was only interrupted at the time of Christmas and Esters when she had to meet the monsters called her grandparents...

"Mom!" Rory said warningly

"…but she was tough girl and supported by her fabulous mother she managed to survived that" Lorelai didn't bother to respond to her daughter tone. "Both Gilmore girls live happy and careless until the real world knocked to their door. It was the time to make Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, aka Rory, dream true. And that dream was – go to Harvard.

So they did everything to achieved it but all efforts were useless. The three years of dealing with rich, snob kids, demanding teachers, sleepless nights, El Duce, fencing and horrible Friday night dinners did nothing. A deer-hunting, Mary-nickname, hammer-working and Washington vacation with crazy president of the school was worthless because Rory didn't go to Harvard. Any corrections right know." Lorelai finished with question.

"Not at all." Rory confirmed her mother smiling.

Lorelai continued her tale "She didn't go to her dreamed college but there was some advantages from going to hell better known as Chilton. First newspapers experiences, being a vice–president of the school, one golf course devastated, one car, being a valedictorian and a crazy best fiend Paris Geller, who by the way didn't go to dreamed college either – for a very different reason then Rory but that is another story. The funny thing was that her dreamed school was also Harvard.

So what paths chose life for those girls? They both went to Yale what turned out to be a good choice for both of them. They lived their college life together, dealing with bad and good moments: first college party, naked guys on the floor, romance with old professor, kissing girls, crazy first newspaper editor, who must not be named…

"Mom – Paris and Doyle are friends and you know it!" Rory broke in.

"Shh it sounds better this way – more drama! And by the way, could you explain me one more time way they break up." Lorelai asked.

Rory rolled her eyes. She told that story 100 times already but for Lorelai it was not enough. "Their paths weren't supposed to cross romantically…"

"Good that they know it after only 2,5 years of relationship not after 25 years of marriage!" Lorelai snorted.

"Mom!" Rory snapped but continued calmly. "Their romantic relationship was only a step to understand themselves better and to realize what they would need in future."

"Man, can I have the number to that guy that told them that. I want him to check me and Luke – you know to make sure that our paths should cross romantically. Maybe our marriage is only a step to something else? What do you think?" Lorelai asked sarcastically.

"Didn't you tell me few minuets ago that it's not polite to interrupt other people. And don't mock Paris, that's her way. Besides you've already met Terrence.

"OK, OK I'll not mock Paris. Now back to our main topic. Where I was… oh crazy editor/ex-boyfriend or ex-lover of Paris, secretes societies…

"One secret society." Rory corrected quickly.

"Dropping of the school, coming back to school, Geller Regin of Terror, moving in, moving out, moving in, moving out, being an editor and so on…

And of course bunch of crazy friends who persuaded them to do crazy things such as in Paris case marring Finnley Geallan Morthson."

Rory started to giggle and once again took a quick glance at her dressing table and a huge pile of folders. Who would thought 3 years ago that Paris and Finn will be getting married someday.

"But life is not only school." Lorelai carried on. "Well for Rory it could be but there is one thing in live that also happen to her.

Yes. Love.

For our little Lorelai Leigh Gilmore it started, I think, at the age of 4 when she came across the thing called book…

"Funny" Rory snorted.

"But when she was 16 the realization what love really is came to her and she met her first love."

"My love for books is real" Rory protested.

"Shh! We are talking now about love for human beings." Lorelai clarified. "Well as we all know it didn't usually end up with first love. It that case there was other loves and Rory experienced all that stuff: perfect first love, badboys, playboys, reunions, public break-ups, no-string and long-distance relationships and other things like that.

So school years and college years went away and Rory was force to face a real adult life. But she did quite good. She became a journalist and now she is living a happy life supported by Evils…

"Mom stop calling grandma and grandpa Evils!" Rory warned.

"What! You forbade me to called them Adolf and Eva." Lorelai remarked.

"Mom!"

"Ok, supported by her grandparents, her mother and her dinner-step-father, and her baby brother William, her Dad and her step-sister Gigi – man that sounds like a soup opera!" Lorelai giggled "And of course Paris, Finn, Lane and Zach, Colin and many, many other friends. The end!" She finished happily. "So did I missed something?"

"A tinny little thing" Rory said smiling widely to herself.

"Really I can't remind myself of anything, mmm… mmm… mmm…" She trailed off for a moment to considered. "Oooo that! And by the way why he isn't mumbling about you talking to the phone in the middle of the night? He always mutters some curses on me" Lorelai asked.

"Well that because he isn't with me right now" Rory stated calmly and once again got up from a bed.

"What! Why?" Her mother was a little shocked.

"I don't know. He is not in bed" Rory replied pulling her nightgown.

"What did you say?" Rory could bet that her mom was preparing herself for another crazy ramble. "You say that the man who took you away from mommy isn't with you right know. That you are alone in the middle of the night in a big scary London."

"Mom I am in my own flat in which I live since…"

But Lorelai didn't get her a chance to finish. "You said that that blond little rich spoiled kid with always a cocky smirk is not with you. The one that made you jump from 7-story platform and have sex at your grandparents wedding vows renew party…"

"Well we didn't actually have sex because you walked on us with dad and Luke but that was actually my idea." She cut her mom off while crossing the room to the door.

"What! You said that… OK Never mind! I know what you are trying to do. You are trying to distracted me from my questions about that prat!"

"Mom!"

"So you are alone. That scum who made you steal the yacht…"

Rory opened the door and went to the small dark hall. "Again my idea…"

"Stop interrupting mommy! The one that you have a no-strings relationship with and who broke up with you through his sister…"

"Mom you are making him sound really bad." Rory reached the stairs and started to go down to the kitchen and living room area.

"He is bad. He took you so far away only because of that stupid piece of paper!"

"This piece of paper is called marriage certificate…"

"Huh!" Lorelai snorted.

"And I didn't go to London because Logan and I got married but because I wanted to go." Rory explained "It's great hear. I love every minute of my work and life. Plus we are visiting as much as we can." She tried to justify herself because she knew that her mom was still upset about her move.

"Gee you totally distracted my from my rant. What I was saying?" She heard Lorelai's question as she stopped at the entrance to the living room.

The apartment was small but she loved it. They got it as a wedding gift from her grandparents.

"You were wondering where is Logan" she answered as she looked at sofa and sleeping Logan. He was still in his suite pants and dress shirt but his tie was gone and his sleeves rolled up.

"Oh! Right so where is my sometimes favorite son-in-law?"

"Your only son-in-law you mean." Rory corrected walking to the coffee and picking up some papers from the floor.

"Well yes but I have a right to call him sometimes favorite because there are times that I don't like him very much" Lorelai said.

"Like?" She asked quickly scanning the papers.

"Like the dropping Yale time…"

"He wasn't your son-in-law then." Rory pointed out and put away the draft of Logan's article that she just picked up and started to collected the rest of the papers that fell from the huge pile from the coffee table.

"Beside the point. Or like times when you have to deal with that horrible family of his…"

"They are better know…" Rory cut in thinking about Mitchum latest attempts to make things better with his son.

"Or when you both go to your delayed trip to Asia after your graduation and you left mommy alone"

Rory stopped collecting the papers and replied lucidly. "Mom you were at you honeymoon at that time."

"So what? You could always go with us"

Rory chuckle and said in amused voice. "You know this conversation is getting really weird."

"Well maybe. So where the hell is Logan at one at night?" Lorelai asked.

"Actually it's 1.30 already." Rory answered checking the clock and putting all fallen papers back at the coffee table. "And he is asleep on couch in living room. He must've fell asleep working. We had a crazy day today. First there were university students protests about cheaper public education and then the whole debate about ONZ new resolutions. We had to cover both that topics. I left the paper early because I had to go to the court for interviews because I am writing a report on changes of British law. Logan stayed at the paper and when I got home he wasn't there. I don't know when he came back because I went to bed earlier." She explained standing near the couch and glancing at Logan.

"Wow you are really busy people."

"Yes we are." She replied and noticed that Logan started to stir.

"Whos tha?" He asked vague in husky voice.

"My mom. Sorry to wake you" she answered bending down and kissing him softly.

Logan looked around the room with blurry eyes and spotted an electronic clock which shows not only time but also a date. The hint of realization crossed his face and his turned to Rory.

"But it's not 4.03." He said confused.

"It is in Saudi Arabia" Rory responded sitting herself on the edge of the couch.

"What?" He asked confused. "Ok I don't want to know how Lorelai Gilmore-Danes coffee-deprived mind works." He said shrugging and pulled Rory to him until she was laying down with him on the couch.

"I heard that!" They both heard a hurt voice on the phone that Rory had still attached to her ear.

Logan chuckled and said towards the phone "Hello Lorelai, say hi to Luke, Will and little Wonka from me!"

"Stop encouraging her!" Rory hissed to Logan but he only chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"See, see! I've told you that Wonka is a good name. Now he is my favorite son-in-law!"

Rory shot Logan an annoyed glance but he only smirked and wrapped an arm tightly around her waist pulling her closer to him.

"Happy birthday sweetheart." He whispered to her ear and kissed her gently.

"Ok that was sweet! He got extra points but stop everything inappropriate that I bet you are going to do now…" Lorelai said.

"And I thought that it isn't inappropriate when you are already married" Rory cut in with a chuckle.

"It is when you are talking with your mother in the same time!" Rory could feel Logan shaking from silent laughing behind her.

"Ok I'll remember that for the next time." She promised her mom.

"You better! OK! Summing up the sum up - you know you have a good job and loving husband and family and many devoted friends. You're happy. Well I must say – you had a pretty good life you know!"

"Yeah mom I know. And thank you." Rory was smiling.

"For what?"

"For everything" She replied with a shaky voice.

"Your welcome" Lorelai said sniffing a little "Happy birthday kiddo!"

"I love mom" Rory wiped the happy tears that was now rolling down her face.

"I love you to baby! And remember don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Lorelai warned with laugh.

"Yeah"

"Bye"

"Bye mom." She shut her phone and smiled to herself. Looking around her small but cozy living room she thought about her mom's words. She really had a good life. She was very lucky – so far everything in her life was great. She had a family and friends at whom she could always count. And for 2 years she was happily married to the love of her life. Yes her life was really good. She wrapped herself deeper into Logan's chest hearing his steady heart beat and feeling his warm breath on her neck. Soon she was asleep with a smile on her face.

But she didn't dream about Prince Charming.

She was already living in her own fairy tale.

_AN: Thanks for reading. Please review. I apologize for a spelling or grammar mistakes. I don't have a beta and English isn't my first language but I really tried to remove all errors._

_Tell my what do you think._

Edith 

9


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